Lithium Ion BatteriesPowering the Future

The Lithium Ion batteries used by Tesla Motors are revolutionizing the electric car industry. Not content to stop on the road, Tesla is now using their patented lithium ion technology to redefine energy sources for both private and commercial uses with their new Powerwall device.

In 2012 Tesla motors started development on a groundbreaking new technology that would potentially revolutionize the power industry. By 2015 the product release of the Tesla Powerwall, and Powerpack was announced. Initially offering both a 6.5 KWH model, and a slightly larger 10kwh model. In 2015 Tesla had received 38,000 preorders on the Powerwall, selling out for more than a year in advance. A year later, Tesla announced the release of the Powerwall 2.0. In March of 2016, Tesla discontinued the production of the 10 KWH model, leaving only the 6.5 KWH model in production. With this product, utilizing new and exciting lithium ion technology, Tesla is able to meet the energy needs of a diverse group of consumers with cheaper, cleaner and more renewable energy then ever before.

Capable of being scaled up to almost infinitely, the Powerwall can provide a never before seen level of clean, private energy.

The Powerwall is poised to radically redefine the way society uses power. By providing everyday consumers with access to serious energy storage ability Tesla is taking a massive step towards the widespread acceptance of green energy. At its heart, the Powerwall is an energy storage device that stores energy for later use by consumers, in cases of grid deficits, outages or especially emergency the Powerwall still allows consumers access to a wellspring of power to pull from (Muoio, D. 2016). Most importantly, the Powerwall is modular, allowing consumers to purchase up to nine other devices to increase the storage potential of the Powerwall (Desk, E. 2015) .

By utilizing the Powerwall, consumers can potentially store days worth of energy ahead of time, and if paired with solar as intended, they can remove themselves from the grid entirely (Desk, E, 2015). By allowing easy storing of green energies, especially solar, the Powerwall will encourage more and more consumers to leave the power grid entirely, reducing the overall usage of fossil fuels across the country (Muoio, D. 2016,).

According to Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, 2 billion Tesla Powerwalls would be enough to meet the entirety of the worlds energy needs. This number may seem daunting, but Musk insists that it is roughly the same number of cars currently on the road world wide and that they are entirely turned over every 20 years (Desk, E. 2015). According to Musk, his and Tesla's dream is a world entirely free of carbon emissions (Desk, E. 2015) and the Powerwall is a major step in that direction.

The Powerwall isnt just limited to private use, with its ability to be scaled to a massive degree its has serious commercial potential as well. The larger scale, more powerful model of the Powerwall dsigned for commercial applications is called the Powerpack (Desk, E, 2015). Able to store and generate huge amounts of power, it will greatly reduce industrial level reliance on harmful fossil fuels and nonrenewable energy forms.

In conclusion, the Tesla Powerwall could potentially revolutionize the energy storage industry. If given enough time, it may very well redefine the energy industry of not just the U.S. but the entire world. Able to meet the needs of both private consumers, and large scale industrial clients, the potential usefulness of the new Lithium ion technology seems almost boundless. But it will be a hard fight for Tesla, despite their groundbreaking technology and superb track record they are still fighting almost 200 years of fossil fuel usage and it will be hard battle to achieve the emission free world that Tesla and Musk want to see.

Muoio, D. (2016, October 31). Tesla just unveiled its new at-home battery - here's what you need to know. Retrieved April 17, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-about-tesla-powerwall-2-battery-2016-10